Further up the mountain was a small flat area. This is where the bandits set up their rundown base, consisting of three tents and a small hut, surrounded by wood walls.

My idea was, given bandits are known for looting traders, they may have something to help me heal Emma. She managed to get the massive arrow out of her abdomen, albeit she lost almost all of her energy. What little remained was spent on stabilizing the wound. Thus, I had to carry her on my back.

Nyeander followed us. I wanted to throw her off the mountain after defeating the ballista, but she knows about the bandits’ secret stash.

It’s not like I could not find that by myself, simply I found pity in how shit her day has been, so I just pretended she was useful.

The snow around the hut was dirty. The walls were smeared with blood, too large amounts to have come from an animal.

The door before us creaked open. What was inside completely contrasted with the camp’s exterior. Hills of gold scattered between ripe apples and beef. Garlic hung above a wine stash filled with expensive alcohol. A nearly queen-sized bed next to it, covered with well-handled hide.

It would have been the perfect bedroom for a noble, if not for a large stain of blood leading toward the bed. The sheets were clean, but the floor before bore the signs of struggle.

I helped Emma onto the bed. After, I searched through the drawers and tables. There must be a healing potion somewhere, I thought to myself.

But nothing. No matter where I looked, all I found was gold and jewelry.

“Oy, Nyeander, what did you say about a secret stash?”

The catgirl sat in front of the wine display, munching on the high-quality beef. “They have one! That’s right,” she said, before taking another bite.

“So? Will you show me where it is?”

“Oh! I didn’t say I know where the secret stash is, I just said I know that it exists.”

“Then help me search for it, god damnit!”

“Nope, that’s not part of my job.” She shrugged, then returned to her food with a grin.

I was pissed. Very pissed.

Grabbing my sacrificial dagger, I stepped in front of her. She looked up, and upon seeing my weapon, grinned. “Onyo? What? Do you feel betrayed? Do you feel the need to correct this injustice with a... duel?”

Slowly, she reached for her sword. I could see a fire catch ablaze in her eyes. She readied for the fight.

However, I had a different plan. Instead of fighting her, I turned the dagger in my hand and rested it against my throat.

Immediately, Nyeander’s eyes shot wide.

“W-What are you doing?”

“I’m killing myself.”

“What?! Why?”

“You want me to fight you, but if I kill myself, that can never happen and your dreams will be crushed.”

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Nyeander panicked. She wanted to say something, many things, but she wanted to say it all at the same time and her tongue stumbled into an incoherent mess of “wait” -s and “no” -s.

“Fuck you!” She finally said. “I’m a legendary bandit! You don’t get to blackmail me!”

“I’m not mailing anything.”

“Shut up! You know what I mean!”

“Ok.”

“Don’t ok me, you bastard! I’m gonna’ gut you!”

“Ok.”

“Shut up, I’m being serious!”

“Ok.”

“I’m serious!” she screamed, flailing her hand around, “Why does no one else take me seriously? I’m Nyeander, the legendary bandit! Legendary!” she cried, literally.

While this was happening, Emma mustered enough power to talk.

“Axel...” She raised her hand and pointed at a head-side corner of the bed. “The dust doesn’t match...”

“What?” I asked, but she could not answer. Speaking so much drained her remaining energy. She was unconscious. Or at least unresponsive.

I walked up to the side of the bed and inspected the wall. The bedframe tightly clung to the wall, there was no gap between the two for the dust to get in, and it was much cleaner than the rest of the wall.

But that mark, the clean outline of that gap should not be visible. Yet, I could view it. The bedframe did not match the mark, which meant the bed was recently moved away from its original position.

Immediately, I understood. My appreciation for Emma skyrocketed. Such a tiny little detail, yet she had the brains to look for it.

“Great job,” I whispered to her, then turned to Nyeander, “Help me move the bed!”

Sliding it aside, Emma’s suspicion was revealed to be true. There was a trapdoor under the bed, a ladder leading down. A bloody odour emanated from below. A torch lit up the room, but it must have been ablaze for a long time, as it was barely burning anymore.

Climbing down, the sight below made my heart jump. Four cells on every side of the room. Chains hung from the walls. Bones and meat remain littered on the cold floor.

They were all empty, besides one. In the shadow of that cell, I could make out the figure of a human.

“Heidl?” I called out, hoping that the human outline was not the little girl’s.

Sadly, my hopes were crushed.

The human silhouette reacted to that name. She raised her head and turned towards me.

Slowly, she stood up. And... she was huge?

Wait... she was not just huge, she was massive!

When she stepped out into the light, I saw her face for the first time, and it was nothing like what I expected. Instead of a cute little face and innocent eyes, I was met by green, wrinkly skin, a large jaw, tiny animalistic eyes, and two pointy tusks in place of her lower fangs.

She was a head taller than me. Her muscles were bulging. Her back was slightly hunched.

And she looked nothing like a woman.

Rather, like a clishé male orc.

As he... or she... or one of them stared me down with heavy, deep breathing, I felt my heart pounding in my chest. Like standing face to face with a wild boat, my instincts screamed I should run.

Then, Heidl spoke.

“Hi!” She waved enthusiastically. “Are you one of the party men?”

Her voice was so deep, I felt it vibrate my chest. It hit me so suddenly, that I took a moment to reply.

“P-Party men?”

“Yup! The party people! They said I should come with them to the mountain because my best friends will throw me a party! Are you here to give me a gift?”

I was baffled. There were human remains in the other cells, in sight. How innocent was this girl to fall for a group of bandits pretending to be her friends, and how did she not see any problem with being locked in a cage?!

But then again, she’s just a little girl, so of course she would be too innocent to understand her situation.

Reaching into my pocket, I searched around for anything to give her. Sadly, most of my equipment was left further down the mountain, because I had to carry Emma instead the backpack.

All I had was a dirty piece of cloth I used to blow my nose.

“Am I seriously so crappy to gift that to her? But, then again, it’s way better than her realizing her situation.”

Hesitantly, I presented the old cloth, and to my surprise, she was happy with it. So much so that she exclaimed a joyful cry, jumping all over the place and shaking the earth.

“Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”

“Sure,” I scratched my head, “Listen, I think the party was postponed by a day, so would you tell me where is the key to your cell–– I mean, the key to your room?”

She nodded enthusiastically, then pointed to the other side of the room.

“Next to the funny chest, on the table!”

Quickly snatching the key, I was just about to free her when something caught my attention. The funny chest. It was an ordinary container, made out of the cheapest wood imaginable. But peeking inside, I quickly realized it was a treasure chest.

A sea of gold, high-quality potions and jewelry resting in its waves. There was enough money to buy not just a house, but an entire village. Hell, maybe even more!

I turned back to Heidl with a grin.

“Hey, could you help me carry something?”